


Dyed String

by Roimata



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 04:51:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2415629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roimata/pseuds/Roimata
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valli, an androgynous Ghoul, lives their life tucked away in a small apartment. They work at a small flower shop while making regular visits to the nearby café, a somewhat decent living for someone who has to always remain in hiding. A red string tied around their wrist remains a constant reminder of how they lost the only person they cared about as they routinely go through their life. Then one day Valli made a mistake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dyed String

Valli opened their eyes with a gasp only to see bubbles scurry to the surface. The faint sensation of being underwater filled their mind. _Ah, I’m drowning?_ Their head sluggishly moved to the left. Their arm floated casually. They moved their vision upwards and saw a pale source of light.Valli instinctively started kicking their legs to swim towards it, with their arm outstretched.  As the distance seemed to grow smaller, their sense of panic grew. The darkness around them felt as if it was clawing at them. It felt overwhelming. Valli’s pace slowed, and something yanked them backwards. Bubbles spewed from their lips and towards the light that Valli wanted so desperately to reach.

Valli momentarily lost the ability to move because of the shock of getting jerked by an unknown force. Their hands reached for their throat, feeling the presence of a string. They instantly pulled on it, only to be tugged backwards even harder. They turned to face what was keeping them from reaching the surface, and saw a silhouette waiting for them. Valli bit their lip hard enough to spill blood into the water.The silhouette kept pulling the red string farther and farther into darkness. Always.

“Valli,” it cooed in a sugar-sweet voice, “We are friends, aren’t we?”

 

\---

 

Twilight is usually a time of unease. When people spot shadows out of the corner of their eyes, and passing strangers on the street cause a quiet tension. When streetlights only provide paranoia, and a rolling piece of trash is a precursor to something deadly. Most people subconsciously hurry home, but some become the very shadows that most avoid. They easily blend into the seamless darkness to become devoured by the hunger that they fear. They move around the edge of one’s vision, not wanting to be noticed but wanting to be seen. These beings are usually called “monsters”, but in this case they are known as “Ghouls”.

A small girl let out a long sigh, “Work was a killer today!”

“For sure. I still can’t believe how understaffed we are, too,” a taller girl said.

The pair stuck close to each other, linking arms as they strolled down the empty street. Valli’s breath was raspy as their stomach made noises at the smell of possible food, and their eyes glittered the typical red and black of a Ghoul. They had forgotten to eat for two days, and now they could hardly think. Their instincts had taken over as they left the 24/7 Ephemeral Blend café, as they had noticed the two girls walking along the street. As a result, Valli aptly took shortcuts in order to place themselves ahead of the pair. The café squeezed itself between two barren streets in a sleepy, residential area of town. It was far enough from the bustle but close enough to be convenient, and isolated enough to be dangerous for anyone walking around at night.

Valli's instincts brewed within them, slowly crawling towards the edges of their mind. They felt their heart racing and their mind becoming filled with a mixture of adrenaline and panic. They didn't want to eat here, not like this, but their restraint was close to none. Their nails scratched the walls over and over again, a vain attempt to scrape the feeling away as the girls walked closer and closer to the hungry Ghoul. Valli opened their mouth in an attempt to yell a warning but words became foreign as their mouth hung open. They didn’t particularly care about killing. They had to do so in order to survive, but to do so a block away from the café while surrounded by residential houses was just asking for trouble. They could see the café manager sweeping in front of the café, as well as a few lights burning within the homes.

"They really need to fix this streetlamp," one girl murmured as they walked towards a blinking light pole.

Valli took the opportunity, abandoning their inhibitions, and appeared before the girls within the flickering light. The ability to comprehend their actions had left them as they stepped into the slowly dimming streetlight. In that moment, Valli had truly become what humans call "an animal". They denied the girls even a chance to scream as their thorn-like ringaku launched towards them, only to have the air knocked out of them in instead.

As their mind's haze cleared, Valli realized that someone had cut a couple of their protruding rinkaku arms while slamming them into the side of a building. _Doves?! I thought they had been killed._ The momentary thought was all they could muster before something catapulted them away from the screaming girls and into the middle of the street, with bits of concrete spraying everywhere in the process. Valli tried to lift themselves up from the rubble, but the intense pain from before kept them down. The sound of the girls screaming faded into the distance.

“Right!”

“Left!”

A couple of foreign voices shouted directions, and soon Valli found their arms held tightly behind them by tense hands. Then something pierced deep into their back, dimming their vision, and numbing their body with pain. A low guttural growl emitted from Valli's throat and soon turned into a shrill scream.

"Fuck! I hit the wrong spot, shit," a voice cursed. Valli's head fell limp, tears and blood dripping onto the ground. One of the hands let go of their arm.

“Ime! What are you doing? Shit,” the second voice yelled. Valli stayed awake long enough to barely lift their head as their vision began to blur once more. Their eyes caught a glimpse of the red string tied around their now unbound wrist. Small block letters spelled out "Akki," the name of the original owner. At the sight of the band, Valli felt a familiar wave of regret.

“Akki, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” Valli said through slurred words as they allowed themselves to fall into darkness, surprising the two figures enough to lighten their grip even more.

"Oh, they passed out," Ime mumbled as Valli’s head smacked against the rubble of the road.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I apologize for the shortness of the chapter. I surprised myself with the length of it. Please provide feedback about anything if you'd like! Thanks again!


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